Laser accuracy issues - iKier K1 Ultra

fisha81 · March 18, 2025, 10:54am

Hope this is the right place to ask this, apologies if not.

Setup:
Laser: iKier k1 Ultra 36W with air assist and overhead mounted USB camera, GCode controller
Software: Lightburn v1.7.06, Windows 11 PC
Material: 9mm hardwood plywood

I set up my laser last year, did some material tests and then designed a project. I was happy with the sharpness of the resulting pattern. For various reasons, it took a while for me to get back to the project. Although I’m using the same files, burn settings and material, the pattern is now coming out less focused.

Bottom row are the numbers I burned last year, and top row is the same lightburn file with same settings. Laser burn settings used in both:

I tried running the material test in Lightburn to check it wasn’t an issue with my files.

Setup last year - nice crisp lines with legible writing:

And now - thick lines and deeply embossed writing to the point of being illegible:

I used stock material test settings both times:

I’ve tried:

resetting the laser and setting it up from scratch again using the same tutorials
- autofocus
- bed height
- laser carriage height
- camera calibration and alignment
removing and readding it in Lightburn
opening the laser head to inspect and clean the laser lens

Not really sure what else to try, hoping someone can help!

Final picture to show old and new material tests were conducted on the same piece of test wood:

misken · March 18, 2025, 11:11am

Did you check the lens? Lenses must be maintained regularly. Clean it first. You can also do a wall-test to see how the beam shape looks like.

Side note: offset fill is really bad for text. Use normal fill for letters.

fisha81 · April 5, 2025, 8:36pm

Thanks for the reply. Sorry for the slow response, work has kept me away from any hobbying for a couple of weeks.

As mentioned in the OP, I did clean and check the laser lens but sadly that didn’t seem to help. I did a wall-test using these instructions, and have attached the pictures below. Wall is just under 3m from laser head.

Thanks for the tip about offset fill vs fill for text. I read a lot of conflicting info about it before starting the project and offset seemed to work ok last year but will take your advice into account next time!

fisha81 · April 25, 2025, 3:22pm

@ednisley I hope it’s not against forum etiquette to tag you here but you managed to effortlessly help me with my other issue, so hoped you might have some insight here!

ednisley · April 25, 2025, 5:39pm

If this is the machine:

Then it should have six laser diodes concentrated into a single spot:

Seeing only three spots on the wall suggests half the laser diodes are missing in action. I don’t know how to interpret the rather ragged outlines for the three spots in your machine, but the Sculpfun S30 33 W machine with six laser diodes shows six distinct, albeit dissimilar, spots.

If you set the machine to less than full power, the controller may turn off some of the diodes, so run the same test at full power to see if more spots show up.

If full power still produces only three spots, then a new laser head may be in order. Perhaps iKier’s tech support will have better information, although their scripts may not cover a wall test.

fisha81 · April 25, 2025, 10:17pm

Hey, thanks - I really appreciate you taking the time to have a look. Yep that’s the laser.

Test firing only allows me to go up to 20% but it stayed on 3 lines so looks like you’re right again. Guess it’s time to bite the bullet and get in touch with iKier CS!

ednisley · April 26, 2025, 12:00pm

If they come up with an explanation of why that’s the way it’s supposed to work, let us know!